GOP Frosh to Reid: We'll Protest on Senate Steps, It's All About A Long-Term CR -- Or A Shutdown; Rebels Repelled in Libya, Marco Rubio Steals the Spotlight, Trivia

By Jonathan Allen

03/30/11 08:12 AM EDT

(with assists from Jake 'Fast Break' Sherman and Kevin Robillard)

HUDDLE SCOOP: HOUSE FROSH TELL REID THEY'RE 'BOUND ... AND DETERMINED' -- WILL PROTEST ON SENATE STEPS UNTIL A LONG-TERM 'CR' IS PASSED -- Marin 'The Frosh Princess' Cogan sends a dispatch this morning about a letter House Republican freshmen are shipping to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) today. 'Mr. Reid, your record on spending in the Senate is one of failure. You have failed to pass a budget, failed to restrain spending, and failed to put our country on sound fiscal footing. We do not accept your failure as our own. The American people did not send us here to fail,' says the letter, penned by Arkansas Rep. Rick Crawford, a former radio broadcaster turned freshman representative, and signed by 30 members of the freshman class so far. 'Mr. Reid, we are letting you know that we will rally on the Senate steps every day until you pass a long-term Continuing Resolution. We call on all Americans to join our fight in restoring our country’s fiscal health,' the freshmen write in the letter, which they plan to release at a press conference near the Capitol steps Wednesday morning. In trying to flip the conventional narrative of government shutdown politics, the freshmen are engaging in their first publicly organized effort to use the strength of their numbers as a class. A telling sign-off: 'Bound together and determined,' because 'Sincerely,' didn’t pack quite the same punch.

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WE WISH WE HAD WRITTEN IT: BOEHNER TURNS TO CENTRIST DEMS -- The Washington Post's Paul Kane scores a reporting coup with this piece about GOP leaders opening a communication line with Blue Dog Democrats. "Having difficulty finding consensus within their own ranks, House Republican leaders have begun courting moderate Democrats on several key fiscal issues, including a deal to avoid a government shutdown at the end of next week," Paul writes. "House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) [recently] met with a conservative bloc of Democrats to discuss potential common ground on the budget and other pressing fiscal issues. Rep. Heath Shuler (N.C.), a centrist Democratic leader, said McCarthy did not specifically ask for their votes on any legislation, saying that the conversation was taking place at '10,000 feet' and that the Republican was 'feeling us out.' The Democrats left the meeting knowing that they could provide the decisive votes, Shuler said, a role they are willing to play. 'We’re looking for ways to help,' he said. 'We’re for real. We’re not here for the politics.'" http://wapo.st/hAl3mn

FLASHBACK: POLITICO, 3/17 -- BOEHNER REACHES OUT TO CENTRIST DEMS -- The reason we wish we'd written Paul's story, aside from it being very well done, is that there was an inkling things were moving in this direction just before the last vote to extend government funding for the short term. In a story about Democratic divisions, Jon wrote this: "[Minnesota Democrat Collin] Peterson, who often mingles with Republicans on a House balcony, said Boehner’s camp used rank-and-file liaisons to seek conservative Democrats’ support for the short-term bill before Tuesday’s vote. 'There’s more of that going on,' Peterson said." http://politi.co/hHs8ME

SPLITTSVILLE: BOEHNER AND CANTOR -- "Moving to the right of Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor distanced himself Tuesday from spending compromises discussed with the White House and took a harder line on whether Republicans should keep the government open absent a budget deal next week. 'Time is up here,' said the Virginia Republican, telling reporters that a short-term continuing resolution 'without a long-term commitment is unacceptable' and that the leadership must push for the full $61 billion in spending cuts approved by the House last month." David Rogers and "Fast Break" write. "When asked specifically about a potential compromise framework that would restore about $26 billion of the House cuts, Cantor said he had no knowledge of those discussions from fellow Republicans. ... The leader’s comments are important on two fronts. Cantor controls the pacing of legislation on the House floor ... Second — and more important politically — he risks undercutting efforts by the speaker’s office to bridge the House’s differences with President Barack Obama while also contending with tea party freshmen resistant to compromise. ... Boehner refused to rule out another short-term spending bill ... Asked about a short CR, Boehner said, 'I’m not going to put any options on the table or take any options off the table.'" http://politi.co/i14u7c

YOU MAKE THE CALL: DEMS 'FEAR SHUTDOWN' ... OR WELCOME IT -- Glenn Thrush and Manu "The Machine" Raju write for the hometown paper that Democrats are worried that a shutdown can't be avoided. Meredith Shiner and I write for the same publication that they seem to be embracing a failure of governance. "The White House is intensifying negotiations with House Republicans — including dispatching Vice President Joe Biden as an emergency emissary — but congressional Democrats increasingly fear that it may be too little, too late to avert a government shutdown. 'We’re probably looking at a shutdown,' said Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.)," Glenn and The Machine (great name for a band, by the way) write. http://politi.co/hl3lks

Meredith and I write this: "If Democrats want to avoid a government shutdown, they have a funny way of showing it. Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said early Tuesday that 'if I was head of DNC, I would be quietly rooting for it … I know who’s going to get blamed – we’ve been down this road before.' A few hours later, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) ... [told] colleagues to paint the GOP as 'extreme' and blame the tea party if the government runs out of money ... Republicans say Dean and Schumer simply pointed to the elephant in the room: Democrats think they’ll score political points if the government shuts down. It’s a turn of events that has given Republicans new evidence that Democrats are hungry for a shutdown. ... More Democrats acknowledge privately they believe that they win either way — Republican leaders cut a deal or take the heat for a shutdown. ... Many lawmakers and aides in both parties are uneasy about the prospect of a shutdown for reasons of both substance and politics. But, in a foreboding sign, leaders are still adding chips to the pot. ... [A] new exchange of volleys suggests both sides fear that they are closer to a shutdown than a deal. It’s hard to shake hands when you’re pointing fingers." http://politi.co/gyyBoi

WHERE THERE'S A DEAL -- It's no less obvious today than it was several weeks ago: A deal will roughly split the difference between nothing and the $61 billion in cuts the House passed, with a sliding scale allowing for more cuts if fewer GOP policy riders are included and fewer cuts if most of the policy items are left out.

A SENATE DEMOCRATIC AIDE E-MAILS -- "The White House and Senate Democrats have cornered House Republicans by offering to meet them in the middle with $30 billion in spending cuts. The House GOP can't very well reject the offer as too small since this is roughly the same level of cuts they called for as recently as February. At the time, [House Appropriations Chairman] Hal Rogers spoke of a package like this by remarking that 'never before has Congress undertaken a task of this magnitude.' To act like it's not good enough now, Republicans will have to explain why they were for a $30 billion package of spending cuts before they were against it. The only answer will be ... the Tea Party."

INSTAPUNDIT: OBAMA WINS SHUTDOWN -- Ezra Klein opinionates in the Washington Post that Obama has the most to gain from a shutdown. His justification: Governors tend to come out better when shutdowns occur in states with divided governments. "States can pass budgets late, and even suffer shutdowns. It happens all the time. Political scientists Asger Lau Andersen, David Dreyer Lassen and Lasse Holbll Westh Nielsen tallied up 167 instances since 1988 alone. But then they went a step further and tried to isolate the fiscal mismanagement they had on the next election," Ezra writes. "They succeeded. Voters respond to budgetary chaos, and they do so angrily and predictably. The big takeaway is that blame is not shared equally: Governors are subjected to an electoral penalty only under unified government, while legislatures are always held accountable." http://wapo.st/gRdax2

TEA PARTY FROSH WELCOMES IT -- Speaking on CBS, Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) said he's all right with the government running out of cash for a little while. "This is the most serious financial situation I think we've had. The American people get that And so if we need a jolt, if we need the government shutdown for a few days for us to really get serious, I think the American people are with that," he said. http://bit.ly/eYjCvF

BROUN BLAMES OBAMA/REID -- Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) writes an op-ed in the Washington Times laying blame for a potential shutdown at the feet of Democrats who aren't willing to make deep spending cuts. http://bit.ly/dQxPlZ

DILUTING TEA? -- Even if an agreement had been struck, the announcement of it might have to wait. The running joke on the Hill is that Republican leaders wouldn't dare cut a deal before the Tea Partys big rally on the Hill Thursday.

SCHUMER, CANTOR WAR ON TWITTER: TWO CHARACTERS FIGHT 140 CHARACTERS AT A TIME -- The aformentioned Meredith Shiner filed eight times yesterday. This was the best offering. "Nevermind that a government shutdown is looming. The frenetic press shops of top Senate messenger Chuck Schumer and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor have the budget battle distilled: 'Tks w/ @SpeakerBoehner were going well- serious budget cuts discussed until Tea Party forced him 2 move goalposts TP is only obstacle 2 deal,' @ChuckSchumer tweeted ... 'If @SenatorReid @ChuckSchumer force gov to partially shut down b/c they oppose sensible spending cuts, Americans will hold them accountable,' ... Cantor’s @GOPLeader handle tweeted Monday afternoon," Meredith writes. "[T]he approach of these press operations is an extension of the two politicians themselves — ambitious, brash and obsessed with winning the message war on the most important issue before Congress. And while Cantor and Schumer are on opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, they seem to be kindred spirits as political climbers: They’re both second fiddles who aspire to be No. 1 in their chambers, and they’ve both assiduously built two of the most active and aggressive press shops on Capitol Hill to boost their cause."

SPEAKING OF SECOND FIDDLES: THIS HEADLINE WON'T SIT WELL WITH DURBIN -- "House, Senate No. 2s battle over federal budget" -- AP, By Laurie Kellman -- Technically, it's Illinois Sen. and longtime Schumer roommate Dick Durbin who is the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate. But that's lost on most folks these days, as Schumer's enhanced profile as leader of Democratic communications efforts puts him even more out front than usual.

BULLETIN: THE LATEST FROM LIBYA -- "Rebels in Libya are struggling to hold their front line after Col Muammar Gaddafi's forces recaptured several towns in the east of the country," BBC reports. "The rebels have now lost the key oil port of Ras Lanuf and the nearby town of Bin Jawad, however reports say the fighting is continuing in the area. In the west, the rebel-held town of Misrata is still coming under attack from pro-Gaddafi troops, reports say."

ENGEL DIGGING IN -- NBC correspondent Richard Engel joked last night that if things continue along their current path -- with rebels unable to keep ground they had taken -- he might have to start looking for an apartment in Libya.

FROSH PUSHBACK -- "Rep. Raul Labrador, a Republican freshman from Idaho, argues the U.S. should pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan as well as Libya," Naftali Bendavid writes in the Wall Street Journal. "'We're already engaged in two wars in the Middle East, and I think we need to get out of both of them,' Mr. Labrador said. 'Now we're engaging in a third one, and we don't have the resources.'" http://on.wsj.com/gofrnA

LIBYA WATCH -- The bipartisan House briefing on Libya is at 2:30 in the CVC auditorium. The Senate version is at 5. As one member said, they’ll hear what they’ve been reading in the papers for the past few days.

GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, and welcome to The Huddle, where we got a slow start this morning, Kevin and I are disappointed to learn from our alma mater's Diamondback that Maryland hoopster Jordan Williams has filed paperwork to declare his entry into the NBA draft, we won't be reading Angelina Jolie's new comic book ( http://bit.ly/dQaQB6 ), we (at least one of us) has vague memories of the day, 30 years ago, that Ronald Reagan was shot outside the Hilton on Connecticut Avenue, and Clapton is wished a very happy 66th birthday.

Please send tips, suggestions, comments, corrections, complaints, notes from Blue Dog meetings with Kevin McCarthy and sports scores (like four, the number of teams left in the NCAA women's basketball tournament after Connecticut and Texas A&M won quarter-final matchups yesterday) to jallen@politico.com. If you don't already, you can follow me on Twitter @jonallendc. Fast Break is @JakeSherman and Robillard is @PoliticoKevin. New followers include @angieholan and @JimGov2012. Special shout out to Boomberg's Phil Mattingly, who says he won't follow us on Twitter because he doesn't want to be mentioned in the Huddle. Whoops!

TODAY IN CONGRESS -- The House is in at 10 a.m., starts legislative business at noon and should have last votes around 4 p.m. The main event is consideration of Speaker John Boehner's bill reauthorizing the D.C. school voucher program. D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton will be allowed to offer her amendment to redirect funds from vouchers to public and charter schools. The White House released a Statement of Administration Policy yesterday making clear that the president opposes using public funds for the private school program, but it fell short of a veto threat -- perhaps a sign that this bill could be a bargaining chip at some point.

The Senate's in at 9:30 a.m., with an hour of morning business to start the day. The small business bill, reauthorizing SBIR and STTR, is still on the floor. Pending amendments include Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's effort to stop the EPA from implementing greenhouse gas regulations, Sen. Mike Johanns' measure repealing the "1099" tax reporting requirements from last year's health care law and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's amendment delaying implementation of the health care law while questions about its constitutionality are raised in the courts.

Jennifer Haberkorn reports for POLITICO Pro this morning that Senate leaders are exploring an option that would effectively pass Johanns' amendment -- which is identical to a House version -- as a stand-alone bill, sending it to the president. It would be the first bill repealing a provision of the health care law to reach Obama's desk.

AROUND THE HILL -- Democratic Caucus leaders John Larson (D-Conn.) and Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) will talk about GOP spending plans and jobs before a caucus meeting at 8:45 a.m. House Republican leadership speaks at 10 a.m. near HC-5 after the House Republican Conference meeting. Freshmen members of Congress will lay their marker on the budget at 11 a.m. at the House Triangle, or 1300 Longworth if it’s raining. Ways and Means Republican Reps. Wally Herger (Calif.), Dave Reichert (Wash.) and Charles Boustany (La.) talk about their AARP hearing at 2 p.m. in HVC Studio A. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Minority Whip Steny Hoyer and Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) talk about their party’s accomplishments for young adults in the health care law at 2:30 in HVC 215. The CBC’s 40th anniversary reception is at 6 p.m. in Statuary Hall.

FIRST LOOK: BOEHNER: 'SENATE NEEDS TO DO ITS JOB' -- House Speaker John Boehner speaks to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce this morning. Excerpts from his prepared remarks: "As a small businessman, I saw firsthand how government throws obstacles in the path of private sector job creators. ... Failure to do a budget last year was a blow to economic confidence. The message it sent within our country -- and throughout the world -- was that America has lost control of its debt. As business owners, you know no one wants to invest or take risks in that kind of environment. Failure to cut spending this year would have a similarly devastating effect. ... As you probably know, my colleagues and I are trying to clean up last year's mess and get the Senate and White House to enact spending cuts. ... It has now been almost 40 days since the House passed its bill. House Republicans are not going to negotiate with ourselves. The Senate must act. The Senate needs to do its job.”

RUBIO MANIA -- On Hannity: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) rules out a run for vice president. Im not going to be the vice presidential nominee Florida deserves a full-time senator. http://fxn.ws/exOMlO

Nightline segment by Jon Karl reveals Rubio does have a prominent photo of Newt Gingrich in his office: http://abcn.ws/i3N2IK -- Did not rule out vice presidential run in this interview.

Wall Street Journal op-ed announcing he will vote against raising the debt limit without major reforms: http://on.wsj.com/iaoj73

'THE JUSTIN BIEBERS OF POLITICS' -- By Jonathan Martin and Ben Smith of POLITICO -- "Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) inked the deal for his memoir 50 days after his upset victory. Christine O’Donnell didn’t even come close to winning her Delaware Senate bid but had a book deal even faster – in just 31 days. And Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) set a land-speed record with his contract, landing a book just three weeks after his Tea Party-powered win," J-Mart and Ben write. "Call it premature memoirization. There was once a time when a public figure like Richard Nixon or Gen. Colin Powell would compile a record in politics, government or military before telling their life story. To establish their seriousness, a younger figure might have written about a topic of interest or extolled the accomplishments of others in the fashion of John F. Kennedy’s 'Profiles in Courage'. Now, youthful pols write about themselves." http://politi.co/heuJQY

HUDDLE FLASHBACK: RUBIO RE-EMERGES -- 3/16/11 -- Scott Wong notices that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who started his first year in low-key fashion, is now embracing his star power once again. "Sen. Marco Rubio is done with the quiet freshman act. With a landmark spending debate engulfing Washington, the Florida Republican has, virtually overnight, launched the national profile the conservative movement has been clamoring for," Scott writes for the hometown paper. "During his first national interview Monday, Rubio pounced on President Barack Obama — from the friendly confines of Laura Ingraham’s conservative radio show. He blasted a statement to the media, pledging to vote against the Republicans’ short-term spending resolution and calling it a “nickle-and-dime” approach. And he’s vowed to vote against everything that comes through the Senate unless it deals with addressing the $14 trillion debt crisis. Rubio has even given up an apparent Twitter moratorium, tweeting this week for the first time since his victory last November." http://politi.co/dYoBcd

CANTOR TO HOUSTON -- The Richmond Times Dispatch reports: “Add Gov. Bob McDonnell and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor to the familiar faces expected in Houston as Virginia Commonwealth University plays Butler Saturday in the Final Four. McDonnell said today he plans to attend the game, which required a politically delicate scheduling shuffle, as the governor was slated to attend the Republican Party of Virginia's gala featuring Michael Reagan on Saturday night. ‘I want to be there to see history made,’ McDonnell said on WTOP radio this morning… Cantor, R-7th, said he is heading to Houston with his sons to cheer on the Rams.” http://politi.co/hprIs5

WE THOUGHT OF THAT -- Huddle emailed Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring at 4:42 p.m. on Sunday with this question: "Will he go to the Final Four to root them on?

SCOOPLET: BLUE DOGS' 'BENCHMARKS FOR FISCAL REFORM' -- Blue Dogs will outline their plan for slashing the federal budget. From a release going out later today: The principles amount to "an aggressive set of targets for long term fiscal reform and deficit reduction that include cutting the deficit by $4 trillion over the next 10 years, with the largest deficit cuts in history by 2014. The Blue Dogs also advocated keeping all options on the table in an effort to bring Republicans and Democrats together for a responsible, bipartisan discussion about the long term fiscal health of the country. ... Congressman Mike Ross (D-AR), Blue Dog Co-Chair [said] 'Targeted cuts in spending are an important part of the solution, but we are kidding ourselves – and the American people – if we think cutting a few hundred billion is going to eliminate our deficit and solve our long term debt crisis.'" The Blue Dog benchmarks: Record deficit cuts by 2014, reduce deficits by $4 trillion over 10 years, achieve a debt-to-GDP ratio of 60 percent by 2024, cut the annual deficit to 2.3 percent of GDP over four years, return to 2008 spending by 2013, shrink government, split the pain of deficit reduction with two-thirds coming from the spending side of the ledger and one-third from the tax side, and keep all deficit-reduction options on the table.

ISRAEL, SCHWARTZ PONY UP -- Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel of New York and Recruiting Chair Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania announced Tuesday at a dinner for Democratic lawmakers that they've already hit their dues goals for the year ($450,000 and $300,000, respectively). They joined Reps. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) and Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) in that category as they urged colleagues to write checks.

RARE DISEASE STAFF BRIEFING -- On Thursday, the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association is hosting a lunch and staff briefing on Plasma Protein Therapies and Rare Diseases in 2218 Rayburn from noon to 1 p.m. Presenters include patients with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, primary immune deficiency, and hemophilia, as well as Dr. Craig Kessler of Georgetown University Hospital and moderator Julie Birkofer of PPTA.

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA -- Congratulations to David Marin of The Podesta Group for correctly answering that Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee before winning assignment to Appropriations when he served in the House.

TODAY'S TRIVIA -- Who wrote the book "100 Ideas for Florida's Future?" Send answers to jallen@politico.com Prize: Mention in Thursday's Huddle.

** A message from the Stop The HIT Coalition: The Health Insurance Tax (HIT) drives up health care costs for small businesses, seniors, state Medicaid programs and middle-income Americans. The HIT is estimated to cost hardworking American families an additional $5,000 over a decade. And since the cost and consequences of the HIT increase over time, America’s small businesses and hardworking families are facing a bigger HIT every year. This translates to real jobs for businesses and real wages for families. That’s why the Stop The HIT Coalition – representing the nation’s small business owners and their employees – is working hard to repeal the HIT before it causes even more damage. Congress, please stop the HIT. Once and for all. http://bit.ly/1iE6tfW **

Authors:

About The Author

Jonathan Allen is POLITICO’s senior Washington correspondent and focuses his reporting on the nexus of politics and policy. He is a winner of the National Press Foundation’s Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress and the National Press Club’s Sandy Hume Award for Excellence in Political Journalism. A graduate of the University of Maryland, Jonathan was born in Silver Spring, Md., and lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and son. He frequently speaks to groups about politics and journalism, taught a course at Northwestern University in 2012, and appears as a guest analyst on national television and local radio programs.